Brent Venables Announces Nine Oklahoma Players Will Miss Spring Football With Injuries

The Sooners had nine players who will miss spring football as they underwent "typical" offseason operations.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables / John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables announced Wednesday there will be nine players who will miss spring practice.

The Sooners will open up spring ball on Thursday, and they will be without offensive linemen Heath Ozaeta, Logan Howland and Darius Afalava, tight end Kade McIntyre, defensive lineman Jayden Jackson, long snapper Seth Freeman, receiver K.J. Daniels and running backs Jovantae Barnes and Andy Bass.

“There’s several guys that actually just played through some injuries that weren’t abnormal (last season),” Venables said during his annual pre-spring press conference. 

Ozaeta, McIntyre, Jackson and Howland all underwent surgeries to clean up labrum injuries, Venables said. 

“Jayden Jackson played all year with a labrum tear,” Venables said. “… Logan Howland, same thing. Guys that just fought through it and battled through it, but they’ll all miss the spring.”

Freeman had an ACL injury from high school repaired, per Venables, and Bass had his ACL repaired from an injury sustained during preparation for the Armed Forces Bowl. It was the same knee he hurt in his final high school game.

Daniels is nursing a hamstring injury, and Barnes had a foot injury repaired that will hold him out of the entirely of spring. 

Venables also said Afalava arrived with a knee injury from high school and has done some offseason conditioning work, but reparing it now will hold him out of spring practice. 

Safety Peyton Bowen will be limited throughout the spring as he recovers from turf toe that he battled all last season, and cornerback Gentry Williams will also be limited during spring practice as he recovers from last year's shoulder injury. 

Venables also offered an update on receiver Jayden Gibson and defensive back Kendel Dolby, who saw their 2024 campaigns cut short with injuries. 

“As of yesterday both of those guys had very limited, non-contact, positional work,” Venables said. “Jayden was working some routes on air and might have had a small setback. We’ll get final word back on that, so I don’t really want to say anything in that regard. 

“Kendel has looked good, again, in a limited capacity as well. Neither one of them went through mat drills just to continue to do their rehab and things of that nature. But we’ll see where that is.”

The Sooners begin spring practice in full on Thursday afternoon. 

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